DIGIT-ARC read-only archive · snapshot: July 23, 2026

Advise required for buying a SmartPhone

29 posts · originally from https://geek.digit.in/community/threads/advise-required-for-buying-a-smartphone.160511/

B
bencilal Original post #1
Jul 23, 2012 at 3:34 PM
Hi All,

I am planning to buy a smartphone. Following are my requirements as of now.Please add the list if I missed any important features.

1) OS Android.

2) Primary Camera with flash.

3) Front facing camera for video calls.

4) Connectivity :

a) 3G
b) Wi-Fi
c) TV out - via mini HDMI or MHL
d) Bluetooth
e) USB support

5) Entertainment :

a) Video player should play HD movies,MKV,WMV,Divx,avi etc
b) FM radio support

6) Document viewer/editor for Word/Excel files.

7) Capacitive touch

8) GPS support.

9)Better battery backup.

10) Budget Max 500$

The model under consideration as of now are

1) Samsung Galaxy S 2
2) Sony Xperia S -- un removable battery sad

Please help me to choose one.Please update the lits with other models.

Thank you all in advance for your valuable suggestions
T
Jul 24, 2012 at 1:28 AM
Sony Xperia S :)
highly better screen resolution , better camera , better processor :)
Nighthawk12
Jul 24, 2012 at 3:21 PM
Or you can have a look at S2.
aroraanant
Jul 24, 2012 at 8:59 PM
+1 to Xperia S
D
diagus #7
Jul 24, 2012 at 9:46 PM
sony experia s battery can be easy removed you just need to just know to
remove 4 torx screws thats it.

looks like sony just put nfc chip and antenna behind the battery.may be nfc antenna need to be at surface


*www.xperiablog.net/2012/03/12/xperia-s-battery-can-be-changed-if-you-really-need-to/
B
Jul 25, 2012 at 1:19 PM
Hi,

If we remove the screw and takeout the battery from Sony Xperia S,Will it be a violation of the warranty terms and conditions ?
B
Jul 25, 2012 at 1:29 PM
If we remove the screws and takeout battery ...it will violate the terms and conditions for warranty???

If the Phone is some how hanged taking out battery is the simplest solution.Don't know why Sony missed that point for such great phone ?
daksh
daksh #10
Jul 25, 2012 at 2:27 PM
S2 over xperia S .
1. Chipset . Xperia has the old and dated S3(the one in sensation) where as with S2 you will get either the exynos or Omap4 ( Gnex(ocd gpu) , playbook , galaxy tab2 , moto razr, atrix 2 ) .
2. Screen - Even though the PPI of XS is high but the non pentile Super amoled of S2 is to die for .
3. ICS out of the box.

If youre looking for a good looking yet powerful phone you could consider the Razr too .
randomuser111
Jul 25, 2012 at 3:27 PM
^
1. Xperia S beats Galaxy S2 in a lot of benchmarks and is overall faster than S2.

2. There is simply no competition. Go to a store like Croma and compare Xperia S and GS2 screen and then tell me which screen is to die for.

3. Not really a factor as the Xperia S can be upgraded to ICS as soon as the buyer unboxes it.
daksh
daksh #12
Jul 25, 2012 at 3:32 PM
1. Which S2 are you talking about Exynor or Omap ?
If Exynos , then you are highly mistaken coz its the fastest dual core out there , ofc apart from dual core Kraits .
If Omap 4 then also youre wrong coz Omap 4s GPU( PowerVR sgx540 ) is faster and better than Adreno 220 . As far as CPU is concerned OMAP 4 is faster than S3 by qualcomm , higher benchmarks scores are due to it being clocked at 1.5ghz .

2. Yes , Seriously go to a store and then tell me which one is to die for . Ive used both .

3. Agreed .

A little edit in the previous post- If you can get the Exynos version of the S2 then you dont have to look further . If its the OMAP one then they are comparable .
randomuser111
Jul 25, 2012 at 4:26 PM
1. I am talking about the one with Exynos. Go check out comparison reviews on both and then say S2 is much more powerful. Read the Xperia S vs Galaxy s2 shootout on GSMArena

2. That's your personal preference. There is no comparison between the sharpest HD screen on the market with realistic colors and Super Amoled with dull screen and cartoon ish colors

Xperia S is a better device than S2. If you think otherwise, then its nothing but personal preference/or fanboyism.

S2 is great no doubt, it was the best phone last year but sorry its not better than Xperia S.

Read my Xperia S review thread and let me know if your S2 Exynos can beat the scores I got.

Anyway I'm done arguing though. OP can go to a store himself and judge which one is truly the better phone.
daksh
daksh #14
Jul 25, 2012 at 4:35 PM
Oh now I see why the love for Xperia S . I own an HTC One X hence my opinion would be completely neutral .
And mate how are you even arguing that Qualcomm S3 is faster than the Exynos ? Update your phone to ICS and then see benchmark scores if thats what you want . S3 was in the sensation last year and it was left in the dust by S2 with Exynos last year .
And super LOL for dull screen with cartoonish colors . Go again to GSMarena and read about the screen .

Moreover if OP is interested in rooting , kernels, custom roms etc I dont think there can be a better phone than the S2 coz of the support it has got .
B
bencilal #15
Jul 25, 2012 at 4:45 PM
How about the battery backup ?
Almost all sites are mentioning 18.5 hrs of talk time for S2 and just 7 hrs of talk time for Xperia S even though Xperia battery(1750 mAh) is powerful compared to S2(1650mAh) ?
Can somebody explain the reality ?
S
shashankm #16
Jul 25, 2012 at 4:50 PM
Xperia S is preferred. Afterall a phone is not meant to be screwed the moment it gets out of the box by rooting the bejesus out of it (what if he bricks it?). No doubt S2 was the brighteset star in Galaxy [sic] but since then, there have been enough of big bangs and several new stars have managed to outshine the S2.

My personal experience with tells that S2 is a bit fragile than Xperia S thanks to high quality plastic body *check YT tests*.
Xperia S has got sharpest and most crazy screen clarity (342ppi) on planet, S2 comes nowhere near it.
Yeah, S2 surprisingly being powered at 1650mAH excels in battery backup whereas Xperia S (1750mAH) is yet to prove its mettle. But still there's no point buying a phone over 1 year old when you have the option of buying a phone a bit advanced...S2 is legendary for the modding capabilities it offers, ease of use and the storm by which it took the mobile market in '11. And that A9 arch is still to be rivalled...classic!
Point is pick whichever feels good to you in hand and in eyes!

And oh yeah, S2 is huge, great to watch movies and play games, hope Xperia S is same!
randomuser111
Jul 25, 2012 at 4:50 PM
See the problem is you base your opinion about the S3 chipset on Htc Sensation. That phone was terribly optimized. Xperia S isn't like the Sensation.

Xperia S Antutu score is 6700, S2 exynos scores around 6000. Quadrant 3600. Similar.

On Linpack Xperia S scores closer to One X and S2 is far behind. Nenamark 2 Xperia S with HD resolution scores 38fps whereas Galaxy Note which has faster Exynos chip than S2 scores 33 fps in the same benchmark.

On browsermark Xperia S is higher too, and on Peacekeeper HTML5 benchmark it scores higher than One X and way ahead of GS2.

Same goes for the Passmark performance test. Xperia S average score is 2200. Gs2 average score is 1700.

On Vellamo Xperia S scores 1600 whereas S2 is again left behind.

Sunspider Javascript benchmark also Xperia S scores better than exynos S2.

So tell me how is Xperia S a dud performer with such scores ?? Obviously you don't have a clue what you are talking about.

Also sound quality of the Xperia S is way superior, on par with Iphone 4S. S2 has quite poor sound quality.
daksh
daksh #18
Jul 25, 2012 at 5:18 PM
Well , why do you compare Galaxy note's benchmark with Xperia's when we clearly are talking about the S2 here .
Vellamo is a benchmark by qualcomm and it favours snapdragons , it is a known fact .
And Nenamark does not reflect CPU capabilities hence Note being higher clocked doesnt matter .
Alright now lets talk facts with sources.
BenchmarkPi (lower is better)
S2- 452
XS-536
NenaMark2 -
S2-51.6
XS-37.5
Sunspider(lower better)
S2-1849
XS-2587
Browsermark
s2-111853
XS-74990
Source- Samsung Galaxy S II ICS review: Sugar coated - GSMArena.com
So please dont pull out facts from your ass .
Youre an owner of the XS so I wont blame you for being biased .

And if we are to nitpick , S2 is cheaper as well .
randomuser111
Jul 25, 2012 at 5:37 PM
Well buddy its you who's pulling out facts from your ass not me. Why are you comparing Galaxy S2 ICS scores against Xperia S Gingerbread scores ? Compare Xperia S GB scores with S2 GB scores and see how S2 gets whooped by XS.
Or compare ICS S2 scores with ICS Xperia S scores.

And do you even understand the basics of GPU benchmarking ? You comparing Xperia S nenamark 2 score when its running 1280x720 resolution against Galaxy S2 which is running at 800x480 resolution ? This is why I compared Xperia S score against Note as both run on similar resolution unlike the biased GS2 score you showing me.
daksh
daksh #20
Jul 25, 2012 at 5:41 PM
Well that galaxy note runs at 1200*800 and not 1200*720 so they are not same . And I couldnt find Xperia S ICS scores else I would have compared but I know it as a fact that Exynos whops S3's ass .

But on a serious and non argumentative note its down to personal preferences and Id suggest the OP goes to a store and see which suits him , both phones are good and you wont regret any .
randomuser111
Jul 25, 2012 at 5:47 PM
^
Oh yeah then why did u avoid posting this direct comparison when it was readily available ? And instead opted to compare ICS S2 with GB XS

Sony Xperia S vs. Samsung Galaxy S II: S-hootout - GSMArena.com

Now let's see who whoops who

Benchmark Pi
S2 - 454
XS - 536

Linpack
S2 - 86.4
XS - 86.7

Nenamark 2 GS2 is pushing only 41% of pixels XS is pushing, so comparatively XS beats S2
S2- 46.2
XS -37.5

Sunspider
S2 - 3385
XS - 2587

Browsermark
S2 -58502
XS -74990

So tell me, who whooped who's a** ?

Now what, u gonna call GSMArena Sony fansite ?
daksh
daksh #22
Jul 25, 2012 at 5:49 PM
I dint post this coz S2 comes with ICS out of the box and its irrelevant to even see GB scores for it :|
randomuser111
Jul 25, 2012 at 6:01 PM
Yea but its relevant to compare XS GB scores to S2 ICS scores right ? There is something called "optimization" which matters a lot. The Exynos is a superior chip to Qualcomm s3 no doubt. I am not arguing over the superiority of the Exynos chip over Qualcomm s3.

But the Xperia S is highly optimized and hence even with the s3 chip it beats S2 exynos in a lot of benchmarks, and in others S2 beats Xperia S.

So yes Exynos > Qualcomm S3

But Galaxy S2 > Xperia S is incorrect due to the high optimization on XS. Both are about on par due to this.
daksh
daksh #24
Jul 25, 2012 at 6:05 PM
Agreed .
Also agreed S2~XS .
Down to personal preferences like better camera(XS) , expandable storage ( S2) etc of the OP .

Nice discussion , Cheers :D
randomuser111
Jul 25, 2012 at 6:06 PM
Btw @OP are u in the US of A ? I noticed you mentioned budget as 500$
B
bencilal #26
Jul 25, 2012 at 6:56 PM
I'm from India

My budget is ~ 27K-28K INR (including the accessories like MHL required for S2 for TV o/p)
For Xperia S, mini hdmi comes with the box I guess.

Considering these both will also cost almost same.

The outcome of the terrific discussion is S2 ~ Xperia S.

Thanks all for sharing your thoughts.

Now need to finalize one from these 2.I think they are the closest match for my requirements.
randomuser111
Jul 25, 2012 at 7:32 PM
^
Though keep in mind if you want to use your phone as an MP3 player as well then don't make the mistake of buying S2. It doesn't have good audio quality.

Xperia S is much better as an Mp3 player.
coderunknown
Jul 25, 2012 at 10:11 PM
But remember GSMArena was comparing the I9100 and not the I9100G. G has Texas Instruments OMAP chip with poor GPU and the processor itself is less powerful than S3 and Exynos.
Nighthawk12
Jul 25, 2012 at 10:15 PM
Xperia S looks are killer and it has better built quality no doubt.
But S2's processor is faster than Xperia S.S2 scores 4900 in quadrant and xperia S scores 4500 in quadrant (both ICS).As far as I love super amoled plus display so much I will say Super amoled is better than LCD display.But no doubt Son xperia S display is alot sharperr than the one in S2.Camera quality is bit better in S2 than Xperia S(Having 12mp camera.)

I love S2 but I will still recommend you Xperia S because of it's killer looks. just try it for once you you'll fall in love with its looks.